kidding. September left already. lemme sum up:

We went to Maine.

It was our last hurrah of the summer.

We shopped, we hiked, we relaxed, we enjoyed the ocean, we learned about lobstering on a real live lobster boat, we ate good food and enjoyed each others' company.

We love it here.
Maine makes us happy.

I give up on August. Meet me in September.

I'm post-dating this entry.
It's actually mid-September and I've been spending the past six months trying to do this blog thing all backwards, remembering things that had happened, and then posting about them.
Here's the facts:
I'm doing some great LIVING, and some awful remembering.
I love summer. 
Here are a few pictures from August.
It was great!

Hiking.

Girls Camp.

News from our missionary.

Family visitors. 

 Kimball's.

 Sunday driving.

 Visits from Enrique.

 Sister time.

Together time.

 Tomato time.

A week in Manhattan.

 Gardening.

 More Hiking.

(Sleeping Giant State Park, CT)

 Friendships.

Shining Bright in San Diego

I love this missionary girl of mine.

Best things

After church I checked my phone to arrange a meeting place with my brother. I was headed to my niece's graduation. As soon as I touched the screen, a text from an unknown number came up.

With a picture of our missionary!

It said: "I'm at church with your lovely missionary!"

A kind text from a random stranger who knows how much this picture would mean to a missionary mom's heart.

I love kind people.

And I love that girl of mine!

San Diego Status: ARRIVED

 Last night after dinner Mr. Dub gasped with delight in the dining room. I immediately turned towards him to see what happened.

An email had arrived in his inbox from the mission president of the San Diego mission, and he was reading aloud, informing me that our missionary had arrived, and there were pictures to prove that this was, indeed, a happy affair.

She did not arrive alone, as you can see. The mission president and his wife are seated in the front row, and all of the new arrivals are seated and standing around them. I spoke briefly with her on the phone in the morning, as she was waiting to board her flight from Salt Lake to San Diego. She was excited, a bit nervous and happy to be on her way. It was fun to hear her voice, and then even better to see these pictures.

Come in, MTC, do you copy?

It was radio silence for seven days.

I'm not going to lie and say I wasn't a teensy bit anxious about hearing from Sweet Mesquite--my mother heart needed confirmation in the affirmative that the eagle had not only landed, but that she was settling comfortably into her new routine.

I'm happy to report that I received the big 10-4 yesterday afternoon. Not only is there no need for a distress signal, the eagle is SOARING.

 Our little missionary sent several emails full of happy details and pictures about her days in training. She has been assigned to a district of eight new missionaries, and has been paired up with a companion from the local area, Sister Carlson. They became fast friends. During their second (and final) week in the training center, they will serve as the leaders of the sister zone. She said it's been exhilarating to walk around and say "Welcome to the MTC!" to all of the missionaries with orange dots on their tags, indicating new arrivals.

 They will both be headed to San Diego next Tuesday, along with three others. The remaining three of the group of eight have been assigned to the Washington D.C. mission. (not to the middle of the Pacific Ocean, as the next picture might lead you to believe)

She spends hours and hours in a classroom, but she assures us that time flies by. She reports that the food is good, gym time is fun, and she has even bumped into a friend from home.

 I know the relationships she is forming with these young adults who are commissioned and committed to the same ideals and beliefs she holds so dear will be forever friendships.

Mesquite was excited to report that as of yesterday, for the first time in the history of the Provo MTC, there were 52% sister missionaries, and 48% elders. Girl power!

Her next email will come from San Diego.

Signal is clear. Roger that.

XOXO

MTC: she's IN.

Our missionary made it--arrived in Salt Lake City, spent the night in Provo, and got dropped off at the Missionary Training Center right on time.  Yonder and Teeny live a stone's throw away. They provided a happy send off. It was a good day.

They barely got her to turn around and give them

a farewell wave, as she was READY to get started.

First: the MTC

Next: San Diego!

Mission Launch: a success

 Everyone left school or took off work to make the drive into Boston to say goodbye to S.M. at the airport.

It was FINE! MUCH easier than saying goodbye to Yonder all those years ago...

Maybe it was because she was not our first missionary. Maybe it was because she was SUPER excited to finally get started. Maybe we just felt like we were slipping on a comfortable pair of shoes. There were a few tears, but mostly we couldn't wait to launch our missionary onto her eighteen month journey.

Off she goes!

XOXOX

it's motorcycle season again

While Sweet Mesquite spent the weekend in Utah, Yonder took out the bike. Former missionary treated the soon-to-be missionary to the first ride of the season. In a few weeks she'll be heading to a place so warm and sunny that motorcycle rides happen all year long. (Probably not for missionaries)

Dear Sister Whitcomb...

Not only has she accepted her call, she's already started preparing to leave in May, and has set up her own mission blog.

In case you missed the Missionary memo:

LOOK who's waiting to hear where she'll be serving:

Her paperwork to serve a mission was submitted February 17th.

That means she'll probably be receiving that big white envelope THIS WEEK!

But she has a plan.

It involves gathering. And WAITing.

Until March 13th.

So wait with me!

And get excited.

(And if you want, try and GUESS where she'll be assigned. She has a giant map of the world on her apartment wall, and is filling it up with little sticky notes that include names and guesses. Comment below with where you think she'll go, and that will make her VERY happy while we wait!)

She is going to be an AWESOME missionary.